Worries are growing

Concerns about money, family, health and jobs in the North West have increased since last year

Concerns about money, family, health and jobs in the North West have increased since last year, according to Samaritans’ annual worries survey for 2012.

The YouGov poll for Samaritans shows that those putting money and debt in their top five worries were at 55 per cent, up a per cent from last year, and six per cent higher than the national average of 49 per cent. Family and relationship issues were second at 42 per cent, up ten per cent from 2011’s total of 32 per cent.

Those most worried about physical health have also risen noticeably at 36 per cent, up from 27 per cent a year ago. The national average is 35 per cent. One in four people in the North West said they were most worried about their appearance or getting older, a three per cent rise from 2011.

Those people in the North West who had worries in 2012 were considerably less likely to have a social drink to deal with their problems than people in the North East (23 per cent compared with 38 per cent) and are also below the national average of 26 per cent.

On the other hand, the North West has a higher reliance on prescription drugs than the North East – seven per cent compared with two per cent. Both regions are well below the national average of 11 per cent.

Those who had worries in 2012 in the region were more likely than anyone else in the UK to rely on their religious or spiritual beliefs in times of worry (13 per cent) except for Northern Ireland (22 per cent). The national average is just 9 per cent.

Catherine Johnstone, Samaritans Chief Executive, said: “It’s clear that people in the North West are more worried about money, family and health issues, than last year. People struggling to cope should know that our branches across the region, and the rest of the country, will continue to be there for anyone who needs someone to listen to them.”